Saturday, May 4, 2013

Blog Every Day In May :: Thinking Outside the Box

First off, I just find this quote from Andrew Jackson funny. But, I like it for two other reasons. To me it is about creativity and the bigger picture. You can learn how to spell a word and regurgitate it. Or, you can learn how a word is formed from sounds and build it yourself. With the latter you will come up with several ways to build words. Think of it not in terms of spelling. You can memorize what somebody else has thought of/discovered/built or you can figure out why or how that thought/discovery came to be. Don't just know the concept, but figure out where it came from so you truly understand. There is more than one way to arrive at a destination, look for a new path. But, never spell probably like prolly. That has nothing to do with sound components and you are just a lazy dumbass.

I've always been under the impression that Jackson said this quote because others looked down on his spelling. He was born in Tennessee and had a sporadic education, he was the President of the common man. But, he also had a sharp mind. Sometimes you have something brilliant to say, but have a hard time getting it out. Perhaps his critics should have focused more on what Jackson was saying and less on how it was spelled. Don't nit pick the little things but critique the actual idea. I'm not an expert on our 7th President, so I don't know what he was trying to say, but it was probably more important than how he was spelling it. Focus on that and let the spelling take a backseat.